The aim of this task is to introduce you to some of the areas covered on the CELTA course and to provide you with the opportunity to prepare for the course. The tasks should be completed on a separate sheet, and you may be asked to submit it at the start of the course. Although you may be asked to submit your completed task at the start of the course, it will not be graded or taken into account as part of your coursework.
The tasks should be thought about and completed in the order they are presented, but you are not expected to complete the pre-course task at one sitting. It would be more beneficial for you to work on the task in a number of sittings over a period of time.
You may find one of the following grammar books useful for reference:
Aitken, R - Teaching Tenses (Nelson)
Bolitho, R & Tomlinson, B – Discover English – 2nd edition (Macmillan)
Leech, Cruickshank & Ivanic – An A-Z of English Grammar & Usage (Longman)
Murphy, R – English Grammar in Use (CUP)
Parrott, M – Grammar for English Teachers (CUP)
Swan, M – Practical English Usage (OUP)
Swan, M & Walter, C – How English Works (OUP)
Thornbury, S – How to Teach Grammar (Longman)
If you wish to do some additional reading before the start of the course, the following books may be of interest:
Gower, Walters & Philips – Teaching Practice Handbook – 2nd edition (Macmillan)
Harmer, J. – How to Teach English – 3rd edition (Longman)
Kenworthy, J – Teaching English Pronunciation (Longman)
Lewis, M & Hill, J – Practical Techniques for Language Teaching (LTP)
Riddell, D - Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language (Teach Yourself) (Hodder Arnold H&S)
Scrivener J – Learning Teaching (Macmillan)
There are five sections to the task, with each section focusing on a specific topic area from the CELTA syllabus. These are the units on which candidates are assessed during the course:
Unit 1: Learners and teachers, and the learning and teaching context
Unit 2: Language analysis and awareness
Unit 3: Language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing
Unit 4: Planning and resources
Unit 5: Developing teaching skills and professionalism